O2 to address 'Niggles and Narks' in new customer satisfaction PR campaign

In a PR campaign costing an impressive £5m, O2 is attempting to engage with UK broadband users. The 'Niggles and Narks' campaign, which launches this Friday, will use TV, cinema, print and online advertising to try to speak directly to the thousands (millions?) of broadband users in the UK who experience frustrations with their service.

Slow connections, hidden costs and poor customer service are just some of the issues which consumer research indicates are common bugbears; and O2 says it is 'determined to champion these issues on behalf of customers'.  The campaign will use animated characters designed by French illustrators, intended to bring to life a topic which is often seen as dull.

Sally Cowdry, O2 Marketing Director, said: “At O2, our campaigns and propositions are grounded on the insight that we gain from customers.  They have told us that they were not happy with their broadband experiences and felt they have been let down by companies failing to deliver on the promises they make on things like costs, connection speeds and customer support. At O2 we want to demonstrate that we have been listening to our customers."

Of course, by the company's own admission, the campaign is aimed at increasing O2's slice of the UK broadband market, but all credit to it for looking to do so by addressing genuine customer concerns, rather than by claiming unrealistic headline speeds or just by trumpeting about how great it is. The really interesting thing will be to see if any consumers genuinely feel that they've had their narks and niggles addressed, once the campaign has been running for a while.